Guest Post with Stephanie Dray and Giveaway *ENDED* of Song of the Nile

I have Stephanie Dray on again for an awesome guest post! I love both her books, Lily of the Nile (Review) and Song of the Nile (Review). In this post she writes about magical realism which I happen to love in her books. We’d like you to weigh in in the comments and you’re entered to win Song of the Nile!

You Got Your Chocolate in my Peanut Butter!

(Why Historical Fiction & Fantasy Go Together)

by

Stephanie Dray

The way my heroine’s spiritual beliefs manifest themselves in my novels about Cleopatra’s daughter have been largely well-received. Written in the tradition of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Mists of Avalonseries, my work envisions a young messianic queen whose goddess communicates with her in bloody hieroglyphic messages that scroll down her arms. The books have been blessed with great reviews and strong sales. (Here’s where I knock on wood that the trend continues.) However, a few readers have reacted with horror to the appearance of magical realism in a story based on the true life of a historical queen like Cleopatra Selene. One reviewer even said that my publisher ought to be ashamed for allowing me to mix fantasy with historical women’s fiction. I suppose the argument is that I’ve allowed fantasy to corrupt the pureness and sanctity of history. Now, perhaps it’s just my background as a student of law and government that informs my beliefs, but history has never seemed all that pure or sanctified to me. We know that history is written by the victors, for example. That is true whether the victory has been on the battlefield, in an election, or in the court of public opinion. The picture that comes down to us through history–especially ancient history–is largely incomplete. Documents have been lost. Motives are murky. (Heck, even with the benefit of a 24-hour news cycle, few Americans can agree on the history that we’re making right now!)Consequently, I’ve always viewed history as an exercise and art in perspective. It’s always a story shaped by both the beliefs of the people who lived it and the beliefs of those reading about it now. A historical world, in my opinion, has a great deal in common with a fantasy world. It is just as foreign to us, and just as mystical, even with the aid of scholars.I chose to include a touch of fantasy in my historical fiction for a few reasons. The first is that Selene’s story of survival and triumph is so unlikely, that it almost seemed to require magic as an explanation. Moreover, when writing about a deeply religious ancient queen, it seemed like a natural choice to adopt the world view of the people she came from. In the ancient world, there were certainly cynics, but by and large, the people believed deeply in supernatural phenomenon. This is especially so for the Romans, who believed they could read the will of the gods in the flight of birds or from the entrails of dead animals. Magic was a real part of their lives. It played a big part in their politics. (Just a few years after my heroine’s death, the imperial family would fall into a kind of civil war after accusations that Germanicus was killed by witchcraft.) Magical realism was a way of lending authenticity to the novel.In most respects, the story of Song of the Nile, which follows Cleopatra Selene’s life as a young queen, striving to make a place for herself in a Roman world, hues very close to actual historical events. There is also, however, a stronger surge of magical power in this book–magic that derives from the divine feminine and Selene’s goddess worship–power that she uses to survive and thrive. Of course, I’m not going to say that including magical realism in historical fiction was an easy task. Trying to weave together all the intricacies of actual history with the magic that I invented made me pull my hair out more than once. But I think the result has been a story that engages the spirit and the mind. I’m certainly not the only author to do it, but sometimes historical fantasy seems to be the white elephant in the room that nobody talks about. Philippa Gregory toys with it in The White Queen & The Red Queen as well as her first novel, Wideacre. Judith Tarr uses it to great effect in the Throne of Isis. Margaret George certainly seems to “go there” in Mary, Called Magdalene. More interesting, perhaps, is the trend in the fantasy genre to start incorporating history. I was very impressed by Maria Davahna Headley’s Queen of Kings, which is a story that envisions Cleopatra as a kind of ancient vampire. So what are your thoughts on the matter? Does historical fiction and fantasy mix or should these streams never be crossed? Are there shades of magical realism in historical fiction that you enjoy?

Bio

Stephanie graduated from Smith, a small women’s college in Massachusetts where–to the consternation of her devoted professors–she was unable to master Latin. However, her focus on Middle Eastern Studies gave her a deeper understanding of the consequences of Egypt’s ancient clash with Rome, both in terms of the still-extant tensions between East and West as well as the worldwide decline of female-oriented religion.

Before she wrote novels, Stephanie was a lawyer, a game designer, and a teacher. Now she uses the transformative power of magic realism to illuminate the stories of women in history and inspire the young women of today. She remains fascinated by all things Roman or Egyptian and has–to the consternation of her devoted husband–collected a house full of cats and ancient artifacts.

Blurb

Sorceress. Seductress. Schemer. Cleopatra’s daughter has become the emperor’s most unlikely apprentice and the one woman who can destroy his empire…

Having survived her perilous childhood as a royal captive of Rome, Selene pledged her loyalty to Augustus and swore she would become his very own Cleopatra. Now the young queen faces an uncertain destiny in a foreign land.

Forced to marry a man of the emperor’s choosing, Selene will not allow her new husband to rule in her name. She quickly establishes herself as a capable leader in her own right and as a religious icon. Beginning the hard work of building a new nation, she wins the love of her new subjects and makes herself vital to Rome by bringing forth bountiful harvests.

But it’s the magic of Isis flowing through her veins that makes her indispensable to the emperor. Against a backdrop of imperial politics and religious persecution, Cleopatra’s daughter beguiles her way to the very precipice of power. She has never forgotten her birthright, but will the price of her mother’s throne be more than she’s willing to pay?

“So what are your thoughts on the matter? Does historical fiction and fantasy mix or should these streams never be crossed? Are there shades of magical realism in historical fiction that you enjoy?”

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About Candace

Candace is an eclectic reader that loves young adult and adult books. She also reviews children's and middle grade books because she's the mother of two children. She's been blogging since 2008 and is also the owner and operator of CBB Book Promotions.

Comments

I sometimes think historical fiction can get boring, so a bit of fantasy (not too much) can be refreshing. There are many stories that we all know so well already that throwing in some fantasy to mix it up is appreciated.

I love both genres and when they’re mixed together it’s usually amazing. Fantasy in any era can be unbelievable, so I don’t understand why it would stand out as being especially unbelievable in history! Wonderful post! And the book sounds really, really good!

I think the two can be blended very easily. Such similarities, when brought together can really amount to a great novel. I’m such a big fan of historical fiction.+1 newsletterdeadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

I think historical fiction and fantasy absolutely go together like peanut butter and chocolate. There are so many cool historical eras that are a perfect blend for fantasy. Ancient Greece-the mythology is full of fantasy. Middle Ages-you’ve got standards with griffins and unicorns and brings to mind Merlin and magic. Ancient Egypt already is surrounded in such mystery – why not add fantastic elements?

Of course history and magic mix! Its from the past where we get the ideas of magic in the first place! In history many often don’t have memoreies of it, so for all we know magic could have been invovled at the time!

There are alot of historical fantasy fiction that I can think of. I can also think of many historical fiction and historical romances that have magical/fantasy aspects to them. As long as the author makes the story interesting and that their are reasons for it/that it is an important part to the story, I am open to anything. EXTRA ENTRIES:Already follow Stephanie via email (manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com) and on fb (June Manning). New twitter follower (JuneAnnM).Tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/JuneAnnM/status/116340488252043264

Historical fiction and fantasy are perfect together. This is because, in my opinion, historical fiction is really boring. But if it had fantasy in it, it would be more exciting and interesting to read while learning some facts from the book.Email: osnapitzAngiex3[at]aol[dot]com

I like the idea of the two together. While it might drive some history buffs nuts, I think it would be fun to put a twist on it. I love those fantasy based novels that feel historical… so why not make it with history as well?

I think they do mix actually because in ancient times the line between fact and fiction was well kind of blurry. Many followed religions, pagan practices and were very superstitious. Particularly Egyptians truly believed that their pharaohs were gods and rituals were a part of life so it is not impossible that the fantasy can be combined with history. Thanks for this giveaway I would love to read this!

Thoughtful post and really great points about the sanctity or non-sanctity of historical accounts. Also really liked your point about writing historical fiction from the perspective of the time period. Ancient historians did mix mythology or fantasy with historical accounts quite freely so I can see where it’s a valid storytelling choice–and even one that can enhance the retelling. When we look at how archeologists are motivated to chase myths: Where is the location of Noah’s ark? The real Garden of Eden? King Arthur’s tomb? The walls of Troy? We can see how the lines between cultural mythology and history are blurred and though the myth or the fantasy is what has survived, it doesn’t keep people from discounting the details within it as factual and for searching for the truth within it.

I think I lost my train of thought there. Just wanted to say when I was reading Lily, I was pleasantly surprised as the magical elements gradually developed in the story, but appreciated it as an interesting way to tell the tale.

I would embrace fantasy in historical fiction. In fiction there are rarely, if ever any way that is wrong. I think many of the magic, myth and fantasy is influenced by history and stories that have been passed down from generations. It would also be a refreshing change.

I think magic and history can go very well together. I loved reading Tamora Pierce’s books years ago and I love the history of the knights mixed with the magic that was to stay hidden during that time period.